One Teacher to Another

February 2002 • Volume 5 • Number 4 • Pages 19-21

Help With Homework

Rick Wormeli

Every year the parents of some of my students complain that I don't give enough homework, while other parents say I assign too much. In many cases, people judge a school's performance by the quantity of homework the teachers assign instead of by the quality of the instruction that preceded it. And in some classrooms, teachers give students failing grades because they didn't complete the required homework, no matter that the students demonstrated in the classroom and on tests that they understood the concepts.

Homework is definitely a hot-button issue in many communities. And with so much at stake for middle school teachers and students, we need to take a closer look at how we create and manage these out-of-class assignments.

We know that mastering a subject or skill takes practice, and homework can provide it. Homework lets students apply what they have learned, which enables them to move information from working memory to long-term memory. Homework also helps students prepare for the next day's lesson, such as reading a chapter before a class discussion.

But homework can be used inappropriately as well. Sometimes teachers assign homework to punish students, which can cause adolescents to develop negative attitudes about practicing academic skills. Other times, teachers expect students to learn new concepts through homework instead of through good classroom instruction. When this happens, students might practice incorrectly, and bad habits are hard to break.

Effective middle level educators seek to design homework that is motivating, enriching, and relevant. They use homework, only when necessary, as part of a comprehensive effort to help students learn skills and relate new information to their prior knowledge and experiences.

Homework That Students Want to Do
One way to build motivation into homework is to alternate routine assignments with unique applications. For example, ask students to interview family members or incorporate art, music, or drama into their assignments. Create distinctive word problems or writing prompts by using students' names in the text. Thinking about classmate Manny Aguilar as he tries to determine the volume of a U-shaped swimming pool is more fun for students than reading about a person they've never heard before. Writing a formal business letter to a classmate in the role of a corporate executive can keep young adolescents amused to the end.

Another way to make homework motivating is to increase its complexity. Plucking answers from the textbook becomes monotonous and meaningless when students never do anything else for homework. Conversely, when we use out-of-class assignments to encourage deep thinking about topics, we boost students' interest and interaction.

Different homework assignments serve different purposes, so it's important to consider the goal of each exercise. As a guide, use Benjamin Bloom's taxonomy of higher-order thinking skills, an ascending scale of knowledge that builds from basic recall to the full evaluation of a concept. Here are some examples:

Comprehension — Ask students to demonstrate their understanding. Examples:

What's the difference between osmosis and
diffusion?
Which comments support the president's position?
Summarize the contract.

Application — Ask students to use their knowledge and skills in different situations. Examples:

Predict what would happen if we changed the
temperature in the terrarium.
Use the formulas for area to determine the surface area of the object.
Offer resolutions to the conflict.

Analysis — Ask students to explain how the parts are related to the whole. Examples:

What's the logical fallacy in his
argument?
In the news article, which comment seems politically motivated?
Defend the character's decision to sell the guitar.
Determine which of the variables will affect the experiment's outcome.

Synthesis — Ask students to reconcile and reflect on seemingly contradictory concepts or goals. Examples:

Design a better inventory system.
Add Harry Potter to the novel. How would the conflict change?
Create a television commercial that persuades viewers to adopt good personal hygiene habits.

Evaluation — Ask students to use all the other levels in their responses, in addition to their own opinions. Or, ask students to judge the value of something, given specific criteria. Examples:

Critique the performance.
Which algorithm is the most efficient? Why?
Has the country complied with the standards set forth in the treaty? Why or
why not?

For substantive homework assignments that incorporate Frank Williams' taxonomy of creative thought, I recommend Imogene Forte and Sandra Schurr's book, Integrating Instruction in Science: Strategies, Activities, Projects, Tools, and Techniques (Incentive Publications, 1996). A few examples:

Elaboration — Explain how scientists in the field of biology rely on methods and discoveries of scientists in other fields in order to do their work.

Imagination — Write a brief imaginative account of Marcello Malpighi's first view of the movement of blood through capillaries with a microscope.

To give students practice using information or skills in engaging ways, I sometimes create RAFT assignments. RAFT stands for Role, Audience, Form, and Time. The goal is getting students to assume a role, target a specific audience, use a particular form to express ideas, and complete the task within a certain period of time. I might ask students to pretend they are candidates for the Green Party (role) trying to persuade the Board of Elections (audience) to let them give a speech (form) during the upcoming national debate (time) with the Democratic and Republican candidates for president. This assignment encourages students to research issues that are important to the Green Party and use their knowledge of the election and debate process to make compelling arguments. To vary the assignment, I might ask some students to assume the role of the election supervisor who must decide whether to accept the Green Party candidate's proposal.

RAFT assignments are easy to create (see Figure 1 for examples). Mix and match the components for a variety of purposes. Better yet, let your students create their own RAFT assignments based on the subject content.

Figure 1.

Roles	Audience	Formats	Time
Scuba Diver	Coast Guard	Court Testimony	Present
Joseph McCarthy	PTA	Comic Strip	1950
Solider	College Students	Autobiography	Post Vietnam War
Coach	Parents	Bookmark	Preseason
Sharecroppers	Immigrants	Letter	Irish Potato Famine
Zoologist	Reporters	Invitation	Arrival of Endangered Species
Archeologist	Philanthropists	Song Lyrics	Discovery of Hieroglyphics
Dot.com CEO	Senior Citizens	Card Game	1995

Guiding Principles of Motivating Homework
Think about the times you've seen middle school students drawing superheroes in the margins of their notebooks, planning a school talent show, or writing a collaborative science fiction drama at the cafeteria table. We know that young adolescents have an abundance of creativity and energy. The trick is unleashing that power for the purposes of our homework assignments.

Keeping a few parameters in mind when planning your assignments will help. First, make sure students understand what you expect them to accomplish. This doesn't mean you have to give them a step-by-step description of the product — although for some assignments you might — but you should convey the expected results in clear and unambiguous terms.

Second, tell them the purpose of the assignment. This will help them see homework as something other than a punitive exercise designed to keep them busy. Consider incorporating a good cause into the assignment. Middle school students want to make a difference in the world, and they are eager to help right a wrong. Use their interests to advance their knowledge.

Third, give them choices. Let them decide whether they want to do the even-numbered math problems or every third problem, as long as they complete a requisite number. Let them choose from among three writing prompts or design their own diets based on their knowledge of nutrition. Let them choose to work with a partner or individually. If they can work in ways that are comfortable, at least part of the time, they will be more likely to complete assignments and learn what you want.

Fourth, vary the audience. Doing something solely for the teacher's sake doesn't appeal to most adolescents. But when they can demonstrate their foreign language proficiency by conversing with people at the local immigration office or creating exhibits that the curator of the local science museum will review, young adolescents will put considerable heart into their homework.

Fifth, avoid fluff assignments. Asking students to create a life-sized dummy of a character in a novel doesn't expand their understanding of the novel. It just requires coloring, cutting, wadding paper and, perhaps, buying materials for very little return. Make sure that your homework assignments have a clear connection to the curriculum.

Finally, remember not to overdo homework for the sake of rigor. If 10 examples will help students practice a new skill and give you a good sense of their understanding, don't assign 30 problems for homework.
Some teachers consider homework a necessary evil, but I like to think of it as a good strategy for reinforcing instruction. By fine-tuning our approaches, we can motivate students to complete more assignments and retain more of what they learn. The choice is ours: We can perpetuate complacency or change our practices to include new possibilities for higher achievement.

Rick Wormeli, who is certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, has taken a sabbatical from his job teaching English at Rachel Carson Middle School in Herndon, Virginia, to complete a doctoral degree in curriculum and instruction. You can reach him at rwormeli@erols.com.